Month: January 2016

We are delighted to welcome the Jewish Vegetarian Society of the UK (JVS UK) as a new member of the Animal Interfaith Alliance. JVS bring a wealth of wisdom on the compassionate treatment of animals to the alliance. Please check out their website athttp://www.jvs.org.uk/

The Young Indian Vegetarians organized their 35th Annual Christmas Lunch. Around 120 people enjoyed a variety of Vegan dishes. The Mayor of Croydon Patricia Hay-Justice and the leader of the Council who is a Vegetarian were amongst the guest. The event introduces guests to a world of delicious Vegan fayre and promotes friendship amongst the diverse community of Croydon. Serving the food are Claire O’Sullivan, Jyoti Mehta, Gabriel Rosser and Matthew Pearce.

The report produced by the influential think-tank, Chatham House, on 24th November, entitled Changing Climate, Changing Diets: Pathways to Lower Meat Consumption, states that almost 15% of global emissions are caused by the livestock sector and a reduction in meat consumption could drastically reduce emissions. Its findings were that:

Our appetite for meat is a major driver of climate change.

Reducing global meat consumption will be critical to keeping global warming below the ‘danger level’ of a two degrees Celsius rise.

Public awarenessof the issue is low, and meat remains off the policy agenda.

On 29th December 2015, The Independent published the following letter from AIA Patron, Nitin Mehta MBE, about the effects of meat-eating on climate change.

Dear Sir,

The article by Tom Bawden (24 Dec), regarding the potential of mass migration and human suffering due to global warming makes sobering reading. What is often overlooked is that the biggest causes of global warming is the methane gas produced by billions of farm animals raised for meat. Almost 40% of world’s fresh water resources is used up in raising these animals. Animals are voracious consumers of water. Over grazing is turning huge swathes of the Earth into deserts. Almost 40% of worlds cereals are fed to these animals rather then feeding the poor. The billions of tones of waste produced by these animals seep into our waterways causing massive pollution and acid rain which destroy trees. Unless human beings turn away from a meat based diet to a plant based diet, a catastrophe awaits us.

The solution to solving the global warming crisis is not with international treaties but with each one of us.